Magic the Dark Lord Knows Not
by The Lilac Elf of Lothlorien
Summary: While Harry and Sirius recover from after the Department of Mysteries, Dumbledore decides to seek outside help in fighting Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Afterwards, Dumbledore works on a little matchmaking. 'Charmed' crossover
1. Chapter 1

AUTHOR'S NOTES: If you've read a lot of my stories lately, you'll notice I've been on a DisabledHarry kick, starting with my story 'The Strength Within'. Not exactly. THIS was actually the first disabledHarry story I wrote and I found the disk this was on when I was cleaning out some stuff in my closet.

As far as the crossover part, this starts in England but will flip between England and San Fransisco, CA.

Read, review, and show your love!

* * *

HARRY POTTER: Magic the Dark Lord Knows Not

(Charmed Crossover)

The sun had just started to peek over the tops of the trees as Harry walked along the forest trail, lost in his own thoughts. Sirius was dead… Cedric was dead… both deaths wouldn't have happened if Harry hadn't been so foolish and reckless.

The forest opened up a bit and Harry stood at the edge looking at the sunlight pouring over the woods. All these deaths were his fault. Stepping closer to the edge, Harry could see that the ground wasn't as firm. He could just fall… it would be an accident… and he wouldn't have to worry about Voldemort.

It might hurt if he didn't die right away…

But physical pain would be welcome compared to what he felt…

Closing his eyes, he took two steps forward and disappeared over the edge of the ravine.

--

Allie Martin stared up at the ravine before looking at the sky. It was getting dark… if she didn't start climbing now she'd never make it back to the trail by nightfall. Walking to a rocky outcropping, she made sure her backpack was secure before finding her first foothold.

But just as Allie was about to start climbing she heard a groan coming from the ground by her left foot. Looking down, she gasped when she saw a teenager lying in the brush. "Oh, God…" Removing her backpack she dug around for her radio and hoped her friends had made it back to the truck. "Blake? Shelly? Come in. This is Allie… come in. Please be—"

"Allie? Where are you?" Shelly replied, sounding worried. "Are you hurt?"

"Not me," Allie replied, checking over the teenager and she was relieved to see that the kid was still breathing and had a good pulse. "Kid fell off the edge of the ravine. Get the paramedics here now!"

"You got it. Is your flashlight still working?" Blake asked.

Allie dug the flashlight out and tested it. "Works just fine."

"Signal me so I can find you."

Allie held the flashlight up and waited until she heard a voice above her. "Allie!"

"Down here!" Allie shouted back.

"Paramedics are on their way," Blake shouted as he disappeared from view. When he reappeared, he was climbing down, holding tightly onto a rope. Once down on the ground, he helped his friend splint the teenager's arm and leg. "So…" Blake said, looking at the kid. "What do you reckon? Accident… on purpose?"

"God, I hope it was an accident," Allie replied. "Cause otherwise someone either deliberately tried to kill—or at least seriously hurt—this kid… or something happened to make him think death was a great alternative to living."

* * *

The kitchen of #12 Grimmauld Place was silent, with a sense of anxiety and tension that was more than palpable. Everyone from the Order and Harry's friends was sitting at the table waiting… waiting.

Sirius had been found in an alley near the entrance to the Ministry of Magic barely alive and rushed to St. Mungo's Hospital.

And Harry had gone missing from his aunt and uncle's house and hadn't been seen for almost 24 hours now.

Ron Weasley looked at his watch and sighed. Dumbledore should have been back by now with news on Harry and Sirius. Next to him, Hermione Granger saw Ron's impatient look and took his hand, giving it a warm squeeze.. Ron smiled weakly and put his arm around her shoulders as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

Remus Lupin ran a hand through his disheveled brown and gray hair and sighed. He was concerned for Sirius, certainly, but even more so he was worried about Harry; especially after seeing Sirius fall through the veil and supposedly died. Lupin looked up quickly along with the others when they heard footsteps coming down the stairs into the kitchen. Albus Dumbledore looked grave as his normally bright blue, twinkling eyes ran over everyone assembled.

Molly Weasley stood up, eager to hear what had happened to Harry and Sirius. "Albus, how are they? Can we see them yet?"

Dumbledore smiled very faintly and decided to start with the update on Sirius. "Sirius Black is alive. I don't know how he's alive or how he came back through the Veil, but he's alive. Though I regret to say that his sight was irreparable damaged… there was intense nerve damage and the healers were unable to undo it." Hermione gasped, her hands flying to her mouth and Ginny let out a choked sob.

Mrs. Weasley's face was the only one with any light. "But- but he's alive. He'll… He'll be- Sirius will be okay?"

Dumbledore nodded. Ron looked up. "What about Harry? I-I mean.. that's good news about Sirius… Harry will be happy to hear it, but… Look, tell us Harry's going to be okay…"

Dumbledore's face fell. "I wish I could tell you Harry will be alright… He is in very bad shape. His left leg was fractured in 5 places, his right elbow and wrist were shattered, and-"

Ron stood up. "What happened? I mean, when can we go to St. Mungo's and-"

"Harry is not in St. Mungo's." Dumbledore said, quickly

Hermione looked at the Headmaster, her eyes wide. "Then where…?"

"He is in a muggle hospital. His grief and depression has led to the development of a magical block. No spells or potions are effective. Harry must heal as a muggle."

After a moment, Ginny asked the one question everyone was dreading the answer to. "Did Harry… Please tell us he didn't do this on purpose, please."

Dumbledore swallowed. This was the question he had been dreading. But he could not lie. That was what had put Harry in this position in the first place. "According to Tonks," he started, slowly. "Harry went to a park nearby. He went down the wooded foot trail and went to the edge of a ravine. It looks like he slipped. Whether he slipped on purpose or not… only Harry knows."

Mrs. Weasley's eyes grew steely. "Albus, tell us plainly. Did Harry… try to… kill himself?"

Dumbledore looked defeated as he said, "It would appear so."

"The poor boy!" Mrs. Weasley cried, sitting down. "First Sirius and now this."

Dumbledore looked grave as he went on. "Harry seems to have given up. He has no desire to work for a recovery. And with the injuries to his leg… even with rehabilitation… most likely Harry will have a profound limp." It was then that the most extraordinary noise was heard from Lupin. He swore: loudly and continuously for nearly 5 minutes.

* * *

Chief of Pediatrics Dr. Meredith 'Merry' Willison had had patients in bad shape who were depressed before, but nothing like the young man currently in her care. Harry Potter had been found by hikers late last evening and had been brought into the ER with fractures to the left leg and right arm.

In the trauma room, Merry had tried to very discreetly heal the boy's wounds, but her whitelighter abilities were useless. After IDing the boy, she had sent word to Headmaster Dumbledore who had come immediately. The two had tried everything, but nothing worked.

Standing in the hallway, Merry looked through the glass window of Harry's private room. The boy was lying motionless, his good arm and leg strapped down, his left leg in a cast and traction rig, his right arm in a cast and sling. Sighing, she opened the door and walked up to Harry. "Hi, Harry… I'm Dr. Willison… remember me?"

"Why are you here?" Harry said, in a flat, calm tone. "And why am I restrained?"

"Because the opinion of the pediatric psychologist is that you're suicidal," Merry said, succinctly. "You're lucky that fall didn't paralyze you."

"Doesn't matter…" Harry whispered. "I don't care anymore… What's the point of living if all you do is hurt the people you care about?"

Merry sighed and went to grab Harry's chart. "I'm officially putting you on suicide watch, Harry," she said, scribbling a note. "Harry… I know you're in a dark place right now but you have _got_ to get through this." When Harry looked away, she left the room and went to the nurses' station and said to the head nurse, Cat Jeffries, "Suicide watch for Harry Potter."

Cat nodded. "Hey, listen… A man called for you earlier. A…" she looked around the desk and found a message note. "Professor Dumbledore." Handing the message over she said, "He wants you to call him ASAP."

Going to her small office, Merry dialed the number written on the note and waited until the Hogwarts Headmaster picked up. "Please tell me you have good news," Merry said, a note of desperation in her voice.

"Sirius is alive…" Dumbledore said, simply. "But he's blind."

"You have to bring him here," Merry implored. "Harry's is… Albus, I have seen depressed kids before. Harry is in trouble and he needs help." Glancing up when she saw a shimmer of blue and white lights, Merry's eyes widened when she saw a man standing there.

"I'll send Sirius over with Molly Weasley immediately," Dumbledore replied.

"Great… thanks…" Merry said as she hung up the phone. Looking at the man standing next to her, her usually cheery blue eyes grew stormy. "You've got a lot of nerve showing up now."

"The Elders wouldn't let me come sooner," James Potter replied, defensively. "I was forbidden from seeing Harry. So… how bad is it?"

"Leg's busted up pretty badly," Merry said, still angry at Harry's father. "Arm's in better shape… but Harry's magic is blocking me out. I can't heal him."

"So… what's going to…?" James tried to think. Magical blocks only happened when a witch or wizard had completely given up hope. "I have to see him, Merry. Please."

Merry sighed as she stood up. "Okay… but not until Dumbledore, Molly, and Sirius get here."

"Why wait?" James asked, impatiently.

"Because you're supposed to be dead?" Merry replied, sarcastically.

"Good point."


	2. Chapter 2

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Here we get a glimpse of what's going on with the 'Charmed' crew and Harry meets his father.

Also, the lullaby later in the chapter is a parady of one of the songs in the animated movie "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron".

Chapter 2

* * *

_San Francisco, California_

_Halliwell Manor_

_A teenage boy faced a man whose face seemed more serpent-like than human…_

_An old man brandished a thin wood wand and though he looked like someone's grandfather his eyes held great power behind half-moon shaped glasses…_

_Then a man with messy black hair who looked like the teenager…_

_--_

"Phoebe!"

Phoebe Halliwell looked up as she heard someone call her name. "What?"

Paige Matthews looked concerned as Phoebe started putting her work laptop away. "Are you okay?"

"Vision," Phoebe replied. "Major vision."

"What did you touch that you had a premonition like that?" Paige asked curiously.

"Nothing," Phoebe replied, getting up from the table. "But the man I saw… I've seen him before…" Without saying what she was doing, she headed up to the attic to try and find some answers in the Book of Shadows.

"Where?" Paige asked, as she looked over her sister's shoulder. Seeing the page Phoebe had stopped at, Paige was even more confused. "Who are you summoning?"

"Grams," Phoebe replied before saying the spell to summon a spirit.

There was a shimmer of white lights and a older woman appeared, although she was still transparent. "Phoebe. Paige? What's going on?"

Phoebe stepped away from the book and replied, "You remember that man who came here to talk to me about that private school in England when I was 11? I just had a vision and he was in it."

Penny 'Grams' Halliwell had a look that was a combination of curiousity and concern as she asked, "Who else was in the vision?"

Phoebe thought for a moment then said, "A younger man with messy black hair and brown eyes, a teenager who looked just like him but with green eyes…"

"Anyone else?" Penny asked, seeing her granddaughter's hesitation.

"I… I think it was a man," Phoebe said. "But his face looked more like a…"

"Snake," Penny finished, a shiver of fear running down her spine. "Voldemort."

"Paige… go get Piper," Phoebe said, going to the Book and starting to search through it. "I think we'll need her."

"You'll need more help than that," Penny said, stepping out of the summoning circle and becoming corporeal. "We'll need double the firepower to vanquish him." Taking the book, she flipped through till she found the page she'd written. "You see there's Wiccan magic, then there's the witches and wizards that are wand-wielding."

"The old man in my vision had a wand," Phoebe mused.

"That was most likely Albus Dumbledore," Penny replied. "He's the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He came to see you when you were younger because you showed signs of having both Wiccan powers and wand capabilities."

Not wanting to look at the picture of Voldemort, Phoebe asked, "So why didn't I go there?"

"Because I didn't want to make you a target," Penny replied, smiling at her youngest grandchild. "A Charmed One right in the midst of a magical war? I didn't want you in that kind of danger."

"Danger from what?" Piper Halliwell asked as she came into the attic followed by Paige.

"Something even worse than the Source," Penny said, showing Piper the page in the Book. "But… I may have an idea of how to defeat him."

"I'm all ears," Piper said, a wry smile tweaking the corner of her mouth.

"If we pool our family magic—" Penny began. "You, Phoebe and Paige along with me, your mother… and Prue… we could essentially double the Power of Three."

Piper and Phoebe exchanged looks. They hadn't seen Prue since her death and both of them knew that if she came back, it would be even harder to let her go again. Still… it was a risk they would have to take.

When Prue and Patty Halliwell appeared, Paige stood to the side as Phoebe and Piper hugged their sister. Paige hadn't known Prue, but she knew how close they'd been and how hard it had been—especially for Piper—to embrace a new sister. 'When this is over,' Paige wondered. 'Will they still want me around?'

* * *

_London, England_

_Hope Williams Memorial Hospital_

Harry thought he was still dreaming when he opened his eyes and saw his father _and_ Sirius standing by the bed.

James looked a bit nervous as he asked, "How are you, Harry?"

"Go away," Harry muttered, looking up at the ceiling. "Either I'm dead or dreaming… or you're Death Eaters."

James sighed. He'd known it would be hard to convince Harry he was real. The problem was thinking of something shared only between himself, Sirius, Lily and Harry. Finally, he had an idea. "Okay… This would probably sound better if Lily was singing it, but…" James waited until he saw Harry looking at him before starting to sing the lullaby Lily had always used to get Harry to sleep as a baby. "Wherever you hear McGonagall shouting… wherever you see—"

"The Slytherins run…" Harry whispered, not sure how he knew the words to the song.

"Wherever you go…" James sang, grinning.

"Filch and Norris will follow…" Harry finished.

"Cause you are a Potter… Marauder… and James is one too…" Sirius finished, grinning as well.

Harry felt tears well up in his eyes as he realized that this really was his father and godfather. "But… you're dead… Aren't you?" Harry asked.

"Not quite," James replied. "I'm… a whitelighter." Seeing his son's perplexed look, he explained, "Whitelighters are like guardian angels for witches and wizards. Usually only Wiccan witches are assigned whitelighters but you're a special case."

"But why haven't you been here?" Harry asked, feeling hurt.

"There's a group of high-ranking whitelighters called the Elders," James explained. "When they made me a whitelighter… there was a catch. I could send help when I sensed you were in danger but I was forbidden from even seeing you until your 17th birthday."

"But… you're here now," Harry said, his head spinning… or maybe that was the painkillers the doctors had put him on. And why wasn't Sirius actually looking at him?

"Because you tried to…" Sirius sighed. "Because of what you did the other day… The Elders decided that you needed more direct help and sent James down sooner." After a moment, he went on. "They also… brought me back."

"The problem, though," James added, "Is that… no one comes back from beyond the Veil without… losing something… without some sort of sacrifice."

"You can't see…" Harry whispered, looking at his godfather. "Can you?"

"This is not you're fault," Sirius stressed. "I know you believe it is… but I assure you this is _not your fault._

"But I was so stupid!" Harry shouted. "If I had just—"

"Youthful stupidity is something of a Potter family trait," James said, smirking. "The good news is that it usually fades about age 16."

"So you should be getting smarter any day now," Sirius added, grinning.

Harry tried to resist, but finally he grinned as well.

James looked relieved that Harry was starting to lighten up. "Okay… Now that you're not in that mood you were in before… we'll give you a day or two for your magic to level out before we heal your arm and leg." Looking over at Merry, he asked, "Can we remove the restraints now?"

Merry hesitated for a second before nodding. "I still want someone with him round the clock… just in case."

James nodded and once Harry was freed, he said, "Now… let's talk about Voldemort."

Harry didn't want to but knowing time was of the essence, he nodded. "Okay… Let's make a plan."

--


	3. Chapter 3

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Okay…. I probably should have done this from the start but I didn't think of it at the time. For those who are familiar with the TV show 'Charmed' this story takes place early 5th season. For those who are less familiar, I'll try and fill in the blanks throughout the story. Any questions just let me know.

Next chapter, Grams Halliwell and James Potter have a 'chat' with the Dursleys.

Chapter 3

* * *

Coming back from seeing Harry in the muggle hospital, Dumbledore was only slightly surprised to see the Halliwells in his office. "You arrived here sooner than I expected," the headmaster said, a twinkle in his eye.

"Well, it helps to have a whitelighter in the family," Penny Halliwell replied, smiling as she stepped forward and kissed Dumbledore on the cheek. "I've missed you, Albus. But I suppose Minerva has been keeping you company?"

"Yes…" Dumbledore said, quietly as he took Penny's hand and kissed it. "But she can never compare to you, my dear Penny."

"So I take it you two know each other?" Prue asked, smirking.

"After Patty died," Dumbledore said, still smiling at his old flame. "Penny and I became… very close friends."

"Really?" Paige said, smirking as well. "Sure you weren't anything more than friends?"

"Okay, I hate to interrupt," Piper said, trying not to think about Grams and Dumbledore together. "But aren't we here to vanquish Voldemort?"

"Right," Penny replied, trying to look away from Albus Dumbledore. It was unbelievable! She was dead and he still made her feel like she was alive and young again. "Yes… Let's get down to business."

"We've been planning this out," Patty Halliwell said, trying to keep her mother's attention on the matter at hand. Dumbledore had to be _at least_ 20 years older than Penny! (A/N: I swear I couldn't write that with a straight face!)"If we use the strongest vanquishing potion we can make and combine that with a Power of Three spell we should be able to vanquish Voldemort."

"In that case let me take you to Hogwarts' Potions Master, Severus Snape," Dumbledore replied. Gesturing to the door, he said, "Shall we?" As the younger Halliwells headed out the door, Dumbledore offered his arm to Penny who barely managed to take it without blushing.

--

In the dungeons, Snape had just finished bottling his personal supply of sleeping potions for the next 6 months when the door to the labs opened and Dumbledore came in followed by 6 women, one of whom looked like Lily Potter. Looking away from the youngest woman, Snape said, "Did you need something, Headmaster?"

"Severus," Dumbledore said, gesturing to the women. "These are the Halliwells."

Snape looked at the women before eying Dumbledore. "The Halliwells… and… Headmaster, you are bringing in the Charmed Ones to assist with defeating Voldemort? Are you certain they are up to the task?"

"Hey, we vanquished the Source of All Evil!" Paige retorted. "And that was no picnic!"

Dumbledore tried as hard as he could to hide his surprise as his usually cantankerous Potions professor gave Paige a warm smile and took her hand, kissing it softly. "And who might you be, exactly, Miss Halliwell?"

"That's my granddaughter, Paige Matthews," Penny snapped, pulling Paige away from Snape.

Snape started at the last name and said, "You are… married?"

"Adopted," Paige corrected him. "When I was a baby…"

"We—my whitelighter, Sam, and I—had to give Paige up since at the time it was forbidden for witches and whitelighters to be together," Patty clarified.

"And… how is it you know who… and what you are?" Snape asked, still amazed at how much Paige looked like Lily.

Piper, Phoebe, Paige, and Prue exchanged looks. "It's a long story," Phoebe said, giving Snape a wry smile.

"As it is the summer holiday," Snape began. "I have nothing pressing at the moment."

"Perhaps history lessons can wait a while?" Dumbledore suggested. "We need to make sure that we have everything for a proper vanquishing potion."

"Very well…" Snape said, eying the Halliwell women. "Who is best at potion making?" Piper and Paige stepped forward. "Follow me, please," Snape instructed, leading the two sisters into the storage rooms.

"Albus, perhaps you and I could talk about… things?" Penny suggested.

Dumbledore nodded, and the two of them left the dungeons together.

"I'm worried about Grams," Phoebe said, looking at Prue and her mother. "I've never seen her like this before."

"I've never seen her so distracted," Prue agreed. "Usually Grams is so focused…"

"Well, let's get started on that Power of Three spell," Patty suggested. "Come on…"

--

"I'm worried about your Potions Master," Penny said when she sat down in Dumbledore's office. "Do you trust him?"

Dumbledore sighed. "I trust Snape as much as I dare… And before you bring it up, yes, I know that he was formally a Death Eater." Seeing Penny's expression, he smiled. "Didn't I hear that Phoebe had married a demon?"

"Yes, and then she vanquished him," Penny retorted. "I know people deserve second chances sometimes… But there are moments when I wonder if you're just not seeing when someone is playing you."

"There are times," Dumbledore agreed. "—when I wonder that exact same thing."

--

"I can't believe some of the ingredients you have here," Piper said, looking over the bottles, jars, and vials. "Do you actually let students use these or are these for your own use?"

Snape eyed Piper warily. Like her grandmother, Piper Halliwell might look innocent but under the surface there was incredible power… Power that could probably match—if not rival—Dumbledore's if truly tested. "And if I said that I do allow students to use some of the more dangerous items in the advanced Potions classes, Miss Halliwell?"

"Then either your students are very good," Piper replied. "Or you have no regard for their safety."

* * *

Once Harry's magical block had come down, Merry had had him transferred to St. Mungo's but while James had been able to heal Harry's arm in no time flat, Harry's leg wouldn't heal completely. As such, Harry's leg was still in the cast, although Merry had said it could probably come off in three weeks.

Lying in his bed, Harry looked at James who was sitting next to him. "Is this… some kind of punishment for trying to kill myself?" Harry asked.

James didn't know exactly how to reply to that, but he said, "I don't know, Harry… But… usually when whitelighters can't heal injuries… it means that we're not meant to."

"So I'm meant to be crippled?" Harry snapped. Looking at his leg, he asked, "So… How bad is it going to be, do you reckon?" At his father's questioning look, he clarified, "Am I going to at least be able to walk, or…?"

James shrugged. "Once you're out of the cast, Dumbledore wants you at Hogwarts. He's going to have Merry work with you to try and get you back on your feet again. But I'd say at the very least… you'll have a limp."

Harry sighed and sat up more in his bed. He thought once the block was down he'd be fine… But apparently that wasn't meant to be.

Sirius, who had been sitting on Harry's other side, said, "Harry, you… you didn't know what would happen…"

"I never thought I'd actually live…" Harry said, in a almost inaudible whisper. "I really wanted to—" Seeing the pained expression on his father's face, Harry looked away. "I'm sorry, Dad… But… It's true."

Even though James understood what Harry had been through, to James it still felt like a knife in the heart to hear that his only child had truly wanted to die. Trying to be cheerful, he smiled and said, "Well… that's all behind us now. We'll be a family… and if you can put up with him for any length of time… Sirius is moving in with us."

Harry beamed. "That would be great! But… what about Professor Lupin?"

Sirius and James both let out a laugh. "I still can't believe old Moony was a teacher," Sirius chuckled.

"For _our_ sake, Harry," James said, trying not to laugh. "_Please_ just call him Remus or Moony."

"Dad? Could I ask you a favor?" Harry asked, eagerly.

"If it's revenge on the Dursleys, there's a problem," James replied. "Whitelighters are supposed to be pacifists… Still…" he added, grinning from ear to ear. "I'm sure I could find a loophole… as long as I don't seriously hurt them…"

* * *

That evening at Hogwarts, Paige ate little of her dinner, preferring to take a walk around the grounds. Hearing Piper, Prue, and Phoebe talk about all that had happened since Prue's death and Piper's pregnancy… Paige felt her earlier fears getting stronger.

"Paige?"

Turning, Paige saw Prue coming towards her. "Prue."

Prue smiled at her baby half-sister. "What's bothering you?"

"Nothing," Paige replied, defensively, as she started walking away.

"I grew up with Piper and Phoebe," Prue said, following her. "Something's up… what?"

Paige stopped. "That's just it… you grew up with Piper and Phoebe. Then the three of you found your powers together… and seeing the three of you together reminds me how new I am to all this… being a witch… having sisters…" Paige wondered if she should tell Prue everything.

"And you're worried that when I'm gone again they'll push you away," Prue said, knowingly.

"Yeah," Paige admitted. "I mean it took Piper a long time to really accept me taking your place… and when you're gone…"

"Paige, I've been watching over you ever since you helped remake the Charmed Ones," Prue said, smiling. "And while you seemed a bit unsure at first, you've become such a powerful witch… and you've helped Piper and Phoebe get through dealing with my death."

"I just wish you didn't have to leave," Paige said, sadly.

"Somehow I always knew I was meant to die first," Prue said, as she and Paige walked the castle grounds. "And I was always worried about who would take my place. "You may be the youngest, Paige… but you have more heart and more love of being a witch than even Phoebe."

Stopping and facing each other, the two sisters shared a hug before heading back into the castle.


	4. History Lesson and Background Info

In regards to my fanfiction, "Magic the Dark Lord Knows Not" I haven't been as clear with my info as I should have. So... Here's the basics of the storyline.

First off the whole notion of the Power of Three: on the show, this refers to the three Halliwell sisters who are known in the world of Wiccan magic as The Charmed Ones.

At first the Power of Three referred to Prue, Piper, and Phoebe. But after Prue died at the end of the 3rd season, half-sister Paige was brought in to recreate the Charmed Ones.

In my story there is mention of a 'Power of Three' spell. Sometimes only one of the sisters needs to say a spell to accomplish a task or defeat a foe. Other times a Power of Three spell is used which means that either all three of the sisters need to say the spell or three generations of Halliwell witches need to say it. If all six women say a spell, hypothetically speaking, the spell would have double the firepower.

When Prue, Piper, and Phoebe were young, their mother, Patty Halliwell was drowned by a water demon and afterwards, the girls were raised by their grandmother although they did not have powers then. Later when the girls were adults, their grandmother, 'Grams' Halliwell died and the sisters went their separate ways for a while.

When they returned, Phoebe found the book that had been written by the Halliwell witches, The Book of Shadows, and read the incantation that would give the sisters back their powers.

For three years, Prue, Piper, and Phoebe fought various demons and made connections, though they were always hesitant as to who to trust with their secret.

Piper found love with the Halliwells' whitelighter, Leo Wyatt, and after many trials and tribulations, the two proved their love and married mid 3rd season.

Prue had only one relationship with a co-worker, but it didn't work since she refused to share her secret life.

As for Phoebe, she fell in love with Cole Turner who was a lawyer and an upper class demon. As Paige said, "You were a demon and a lawyer? Insert joke here."

When the Source of All Evil sent a demon assassin to kill a mortal doctor, the sisters' attempt to save the man's life ended up costing them Prue.

With Paige now a part of the Charmed Ones, the sisters were able to defeat The Source but the demon's spirit was absorbed into Cole who became the new Source.

Cole was also vanquished by the Charmed Ones and after his death, Piper found out she was pregnant.

--

Now as for Patty and Grams coming back. Usually they just come back in spirit form but on a few occasions they come back in corporeal form which is what's happening in this story along with Prue who is also dead.

* * *

Hope this helps clear up any confusion. Interactions with HP characters will be explained in the story itself.


	5. Chapter 4

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I've decided to pair Harry with Hermione in this story. As for the Halliwells… well, they'll be finding love as well. And if any fans of 'Charmed' are wondering about Leo, he'll be popping up soon.

Read, review, and show your love!

Chapter 4

* * *

There had been an unusually large amount of magical energy in England lately and that usually meant a great power had risen.

And since the wizarding world seemed more hopeful and cheerful despite the current situation, Voldemort was willing to bet that it wasn't an evil power.

The problem was that there was really only one power that could be felt that strongly and that was The Charmed Ones. The power and magic seemed to emanate from the Earth itself and from what Voldemort could tell the magic and power seemed focused on Hogwarts.

If the Power of Three was against him, then his next attack would have to take out Dumbledore AND Harry Potter AND Hogwarts otherwise he'd never be able to weaken the powers of good enough to get a secure hold.

--

Dumbledore had several reasons for bringing Harry, James, and Sirius to Hogwarts for the time being.

The first and foremost being that Hogwarts—like the Halliwell Manor in San Francisco—had been built on a center of powerful magic. A magical nexus, he believed was what Penny had called it.

The second reason was protection. While Harry was vulnerable, he needed to be somewhere that provided complete protection and was defendible.

--

On a Friday afternoon, James orbed Harry and Sirius into Dumbledore's office just as the headmaster came in followed by the Halliwells.

Phoebe Halliwell recognized the teenager and one of the men from her earlier vision but it was the other man that really caught her eye. He was tall with black hair that hung elegantly and his dark eyes held some hidden pain even though the seemed to be staring blankly. Noticing the white cane he held, Phoebe realized that he was blind but somehow that only added to his attractiveness.

Paige, on the other hand, couldn't take her eyes off of the man with messy black hair and glasses. When he noticed she was staring, he flashed her a devilishly handsome grin and winked.

This was one of the other reasons Dumbledore had wanted the Potters and Sirius in the castle. Even though he'd been forbidden from seeing Harry, James often came to Dumbledore's office to see how his son was doing. But the last time they had talked, James had commented on how much he missed Lily.

So when Dumbledore had noticed the look of recognition on Snape's face earlier when he'd seen Paige Matthews-Halliwell a plan had started to form in his mind. If Paige reminded Snape of Lily, quite possibly the same would hold true for James…

"Professor?" Harry asked as he hobbled over to a chair and sat down. "Who are they?"

When Harry spoke, Dumbledore noticed that Harry's left leg was in a cast almost up to his hip. "Harry… It's good to see you're out of the hospital. Yes… my other guests…" Dumbledore said, turning to the ladies accompanying him. "May I introduce Penny Halliwell and her daughter, Patty… and The Charmed Ones."

"_The Charmed Ones_?" James and Sirius repeated, flabbergasted.

"And… why…?" James asked, confused.

"Since Harry is… out of commission, so to speak," the headmaster explained. "I decided to bring in some… outside assistance." Seeing Phoebe watching Sirius and Paige and James eyeing each other. "I'll leave you all to get acquainted. Dinner will be served in about an hour in the Great Hall." And with that, he left the office.

"Well, since Albus only did half the introductions," Penny said with only the slightest touch of annoyance. "—I guess we'll do this ourselves." Pointing to her granddaughters, she said, "This is Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige."

James nodded as he said, "I'm James Potter, the teenager in the cast is my son, Harry…" Putting a hand on Sirius's shoulder, he added, "And my best friend, Sirius Black."

When Phoebe took Sirius's offered hand, she tensed as she had a premonition.

_She and Sirius stood in the Great Hall under a flowered archway. They held hands and as music played, Sirius slid a gold ring onto her finger in front of a platinum diamond ring._

_Nearby James and Paige held hands, each wearing matching wedding bands and Harry stood next to them as he held the hand of a girl with frizzy brown hair._

Phoebe looked at Sirius before glancing over at James and Paige.

--

At dinner, Phoebe sat next to Dumbledore and asked, "Did you set this up?"

"Set what up, Miss Halliwell?" Dumbledore asked, innocently.

"I had a vision of me and Sirius," Phoebe replied, whispering. "You're telling me you're not behind that?"

"In this premonition…" Dumbledore said, dodging the question. "… did you happen to notice James or your sister?"

"What are you up to?" Phoebe asked, shrewdly. Seeing Dumbledore's curious look, she sighed and said, "They were holding hands… they wore wedding rings." Seeing the headmaster's smile she said, "You're setting them up, aren't you?"

"My original goal was matching James Potter and your sister, Paige," Dumbledore replied. "You and Sirius Black… that wasn't a plan of mine."

"And the girl Harry was with?" Phoebe asked, her own curiousity piquing. "Um… she had brown eyes… frizzy brown hair…"

Dumbledore looked surprised at this. "Interesting… I always thought Harry and Miss Genevra Weasley would end up together…"

"You know the girl Harry was with?"

"Miss Hermione Granger," Dumbledore said, succinctly. "A friend of Harry's… Or perhaps something more…"

* * *

That night, in the common room of the suite Dumbledore had set up for Harry, James, and Sirius, a fire flickered merrily as Sirius and James discussed Harry. "Once Harry's out of the cast and starts physical therapy we'll have a better look at what kind of recovery he'll have," James said, staring into the flames. "Best case he'll be able to walk unassisted but he'll have a limp."

"And… worst case?" Sirius asked.

James sighed and leaned back in his arm chair. "The fractures of Harry's leg… The broken bones caused some damage to the leg muscles… Worst case… Harry'll never regain any meaningful use of his leg. It wouldn't support weight…"

"So… in that case…" Sirius asked, concerned for his godson. "What do we do then?"

James glanced at the door to Harry's bedroom. "If there's no real chance of recovery… Merry wants to… cut off his leg."

Sirius's blank eyes widened at that. "Harry could lose his leg? This just keeps getting better and better."

"Sirius, I'm trying to deal with what Harry's going through," James snapped. "I need your help."

"Help?" Sirius repeated. "James, I can barely help myself. I'm blind!"

"And I still need you, Sirius!" James argued. "I need you to talk to Harry when he won't listen to me… I need you to talk me out of doing something stupid on a first date…"

"First date with who?" Sirius asked, suggestively.

"Just… a first date…" James said, shrugging. "I miss Lily…"

"The Elders wouldn't make Lily a whitelighter?" Sirius asked.

"Nope," James replied. "Apparently They want me to be lonely."

--

In the common room of Gryffindor Tower, Prue, Paige, and Phoebe sat around the fire, talking, while the others were up in the dormitory, sleeping.

"So how are you doing, Phoebe?" Prue asked, giving her younger sister a knowing look.

"You mean with Cole?" Phoebe asked, putting a note of 'I don't want to talk about it' into her voice.

"I know how much you loved him, Pheebs," Prue replied. "And I know how much you went through with and for him."

"Hey, I learned my lesson," Phoebe replied. "No more demons… Even if they DO seem like, nice, normal, charming guys."

"Well, it's okay to be with someone else," Prue said, smirking. "By the way… what was that premonition you had when you touched Sirius?"

"Yeah," Paige added, her curiosity piqued. "And why were you looking at me during dinner?"

Phoebe sighed. "I had a vision… of you and James Potter… You were married."

"And you and Sirius?" Paige asked, dodging the idea of James Potter.

--

James Potter awoke around 3a.m. by a soft hand gently caressing his cheek. Blinking, he grabbed his glasses and sat up quickly when he saw Lily sitting next to him on the bed. "It's you… Lily…" Smiling as he held her, he added, "I've missed you, Lily."

Brushing his messy bangs out of eyes, Lily said to her husband, "I know, James. I know it's been hard being separated from me and Harry for so long. But you have Harry now…"

Running his fingers through Lily's red hair, he pulled her close and kissed her deeply. "But I don't have you… I need you, Lily…" When she started to protest, James kissed her again, deep and tender… the way he'd always done when he wanted his way.

"I can't stay long, James," Lily protested, weakly, as James started tenderly kissing her neck.

"Please… One more time…" James begged, lifting her shirt and unhooking her bra.

Lily lay down and James rolled so he was on top of her as they made love.

As the morning sun started coming in through the window, Lily felt the pull of the Elders bringing her back. "It's time, James…"

"One more day, Lily?" James begged. "Spend some time with Harry… with me?"

Lily got up, magically redressed. "You'll find a new love, James. Trust me…"

James sat up, his eyes doubtful. "No, I won't. Lily, I'll never meet someone I love as much as you."

"Yes, you will…" she insisted. Smiling knowingly she added, "You've already met her."

James's brow furrowed for a moment before he said, "Paige…? But she… She's not you, Lily… I want _you_."

"I know, James," Lily said, softly, giving him one last kiss. "But we can't always have what we want."


	6. Chapter 5

AUTHOR'S NOTES: If there are any 'Charmed' fans reading this, please note that it's really hard to come up with a spell. I actually prefer writing Sorting Hat songs.

And the Halliwells will be hanging around for a while longer.

Read, review, and show your love!

Chapter 5

* * *

"You're really good at this," Prue said as she watched Paige make a power-stripping potion.

"I learned from Piper," Paige replied as she added snake skin and a small basilisk fang.

"She's always been the best when it comes to potion making," Prue said, smiling. "Phoebe's particular talent was spellwriting."

"What about you?" Paige asked, as she stirred.

Prue shrugged. "My powers were the strongest… but other than that… I never really had a particular talent for anything."

"You don't give yourself enough credit," Paige said, looking at Prue. "When I found out I was a witch… that I was related to you… all I could think about was how I'd never be as good as you."

Prue gave her half-sister a smile. "You're just as good as I was," she assured Paige. "If not better."

"Better than what?" Piper asked as she entered the potions lab with the ingredients she'd picked up in Hogsmeade.

"I said that Paige is just as good as me if not better," Prue said, noticing that Piper didn't even look at her.

"You didn't tell Prue about stealing the Book of Shadows, did you?" Piper asked Paige.

"Actually, I was watching when you did that," Prue said to Paige, smiling. In a more somber tone, Prue turned to Piper and added, "And I saw you turn into a furie, Piper."

Still not wanting to look at her older sister, Piper said, "Yeah, well… not the first time I turned into a demon. I think you were the only one who managed to avoid that."

Prue sighed, tired of Piper avoiding her. "Piper, I know you hated me… and that for some reason you're still mad at me…"

Paige didn't say anything as she finished the potion and bottled it. The social worker part of her wanted to mediate between the two… but at the same time, she knew that Prue and Piper needed to settle this themselves.

"So what's the problem?" Prue asked, dimly aware of Paige putting the vials of potion away and cleaning up.

"I'm mad at you for coming back," Piper snapped, finally facing Prue. "Phoebe and I were just starting to deal with you being dead… We were moving on with our lives… We were accepting Paige as our sister and the third Charmed One. And now all of a sudden you're back in our lives. And when you leave again we'll be back at square one!"

Not really knowing how to respond to that, Prue nodded and headed out of the potions lab and up to the main floor of the castle.

"You seem troubled, Miss Halliwell," Snape said as he headed towards the entrance to the dungeons.

"Piper hates me because I came back from the dead," Prue said, trying not to feel hurt by her sister's words. "I mean, I understand why she feels that way, but…"

Snape didn't feel like having this woman crying on his shoulder—and it looked like she might start that at any moment—and yet Snape felt an unusual attraction to Miss Prue Halliwell. With a gentlemanly air, he offered his arm to her, he said, "Perhaps you'd care to take a walk with me? We could talk…"

Prue raised an eyebrow in interest but after a moment she took Snape's arm and the two headed out onto the grounds for a stroll.

--

"How come you're pushing Prue away?" Phoebe asked as she watched Piper bottling the secondary vanquishing potion.

"How that spell coming?" Piper asked, avoiding the question.

"Done," Phoebe replied. "And don't change the subject." Pulling a stool over to the table Piper was working at, Phoebe went on. "Look, I know it's been going on without Prue. And I won't pretend that it won't be hard when she's gone again." Reaching across the table and taking Piper's hand she added, "But we've got this one chance. Don't throw it away. It's going to hurt one way or the other but if you push Prue away it'll only hurt worse because you'll always wish you'd had more time."

Even though Piper's eyes shone with tears, she smiled as she said, "You sure you're not the older, wiser sister?"

--

"So we have the vanquishing potion, power-stripping potion, and a Power of Three spell," Penny said as everyone—minus Prue and Snape—sat at the Ravenclaw table for dinner that evening. "So now the question is whether to go after Voldemort, or lure him here."

"Well, we have to assume that Voldemort is making plans against us," James offered. "The upside is that our plan is ready to go and they'll likely have more planning and scheming to do." Thinking for a moment, he added, "Of course there's not much _I _can do seeing as how I've got that annoying whitelighter/pacifist, problem."

"Well, what if we think about this another way?" Harry spoke up. "Yes, the Death Eaters should be killed but… what if we just… neutralize them instead?"

"Come again?" Sirius asked, confused.

"I don't know…" Harry said, surprised that his idea was being taken seriously. "Turn them into… kittens or… something…"

"That's… actually kind of brilliant," Piper said, thinking. "And for the irony you could dump them at an animal shelter."

"But that still doesn't solve the question of a defensive assault or an offensive one," Patty said, looking at the others.

"Who says we can't do both?" Paige suggested. "Prue, Piper, and Grams have the most firepower and I can orb. We go and launch an attack and… then we somehow bring Voldemort back here and do the vanquish."

"I'm coming with you, then," James said, looking at Paige. "You'll need an extra person if the plan is to orb three witches and a very homicidal dark wizard."

"Harry, while the others take care of things," Dumbledore said, looking at the teenager. "I want you and Sirius to stay in my office."

"It's not like we can actually fight," Harry said, nodding. "Don't worry… we'll stay out of harm's way."

Sirius shrugged, annoyed that he was on the sidelines. "Whatever you say."

"So… once we corner Voldemort," Harry wanted to know. "What's the plan?"

"Step one is to hit him with a triple dose of the power-stripping potion," Phoebe explained. "Then we—" she indicated her sisters, mother, and grandmother. "—will say the spell and hit Voldemort with the vanquishing potions."

"We've used these potions on the Source, so…"

"Is that your way of saying that if this doesn't work we're completely screwed?" Sirius asked.

* * *

The old Riddle House was quiet as it neared midnight but as the old grandfather chimed the hour, 20 men and woman appeared in the living room, each wearing hooded cloaks.

"They will attack very soon," Voldemort told his loyal followers. "Dumbledore and the Charmed Ones will want to avoid a final confrontation at the castle—" He stopped dead when a swirl of white and blue lights appeared revealing 3 young women, an older woman who looked ready for a fight, and— "James Potter," Voldemort said in an amused tone. "So you are a whitelighter now?"

"Disappointed that I'm not dead?" James asked, smirking.

Seeing that one of the Death Eaters was going for his wand, Piper waved her hands and the man blew up. "Okay…" she said, smiling. "Now that we have your attention…"

The Death Eaters quickly pulled out their wands all at once and spells started flying around the room as James and the others tried to avoid the curses.

When Avery fired a curse at Paige, she aimed a hand towards him as she said, "Spell!" and turned the curse against it's caster.

Penny waved a hand and three of the Death Eaters flew into a wall as piper blew up two more of Voldemort's lackeys.

"Piper, look out!"

Piper turned to her sister just as Voldemort fired a Killing Curse at her, throwing her backwards onto two Death Eaters who crumpled.

Prue sent Voldemort flying with a wave of her hand and when she saw that piper was getting up unharmed she shouted, "Paige! Now!"

From behind the Dark Lord, Paige ran at the dark wizard and just as she grabbed onto him, she orbed back to the Hogwarts Great Hall where her mother and Phoebe were waiting with vials of power-stripping potion.

Letting go of Voldemort and backing away quickly, Paige felt a touch of relief when she saw James with Grams, Prue, and Piper. Grabbing vials, all 7 of them threw potion at Voldemort who laughed as he pointed his wand at James. "You thought that a mere _potion_ would destroy _me_?! Avada Kedavra!"

But nothing happened.

Frozen in disbelief, James moved aside as the Halliwells started reciting the vanquishing spell.

"Darkness forged for many years

Raining with loss and tears

Death you ate but now you'll be

Vanquished by the Power of Three"

Each Halliwell threw a vial of potion at Voldemort who was engulfed in flames.

"Nothing more you have to gain

Know only fire, know only pain"

There was a great explosion and when James looked at where Voldemort had been standing, he saw only a great scorch mark on the stone floor.

"I love a good vanquish in the morning," Phoebe said, grinning.

"Yeah, but how are they going to get that out of stone?" Paige asked, looking at the scorch mark.


	7. Chapter 6

AUTHOR'S NOTES: If anyone's worried about Harry, he'll be fine. He'll be limping, but fine. And he'll be paired with Hermione. I've started liking that pairing more than Harry/Ginny.

Read, review, and show your love!

Chapter 6

* * *

It had been two weeks since Voldemort had been destroyed and while there was much celebration going on in the wizarding world, James hadn't joined in.

In the hospital wing, Harry lay on one of the beds as Merry removed the cast on Harry's leg. "I want to warn you right now," Merry said to Harry. "It may take a long time for you to get your strength back. There was some damage to the muscle from the broken bones and that will likely inhibit your recovery a bit."

Harry took his crutches and stood, leaning heavily when his left leg crumpled. Sitting again, he said, "I can't even put any weight on it."

Merry sighed. "Harry, didn't I just say it will be a while? And we need to condition your leg first."

"What do you mean condition?" James asked.

"I'm going to start Harry on a series of leg exercises to help loosen up the joints and build up the muscles," Merry explained, as Harry moved back onto the bed more. Taking Harry's leg, she started doing stretches and extensions. "Harry, either your dad or I will do this for a few hours every day. After a week, we'll start on leg presses to help build the muscle."

"James?" Turning, James saw Paige coming into the room. "Phoebe told me you were in here."

"Hi, Paige," Harry said, wincing as Merry stretched his leg. "That hurts…" He said to Merry. "It really…"

"I know it hurts, Harry," Merry replied, sympathetically. "And it's going to hurt for a while. But we have to keep going."

James could practically feel his son's pain as the doctor/whitelighter continued the exercises. Looking at Paige, he said, "I thought you and the others were leaving," James said, casually.

"Dumbledore offered me a job teaching Potions," Paige replied, deciding to play it cool. "And he offered Phoebe a job teaching divination."

"What happened to Snape?" James asked, curious.

"Snape ran off with Prue," Paige said. "Apparently being with a wand-wielding wizard is keeping Prue off the spirit radar and they evidently like each other, so… Phoebe's staying to be with your friend Sirius and Dumbledore said he'd try to get a computer working here so she can continue working as a columnist for a newspaper back home."

"Don't you have a job?" James asked. He wanted Paige to stay but if she already had life back in California…

"Nope," Paige said, smiling when she saw how happy James was that she was staying.

James took her hand and said, "Miss Matthews-Halliwell… would you have dinner with me tonight?"

Paige nodded. "I'd love to, Mr. Potter."

--

Up in Dumbledore's office, Penny sat on the corner of the desk giving her old flame an update. "Patty had to go back… and Piper went back to the manor."

Dumbledore pulled Penny to him and kissed her. "I suppose you have to leave soon as well…" He said, sadly.

"Well…" Penny said, slyly. "If you could stand having me around… The magic of the castle should provide enough cover for a while…"

"In that case," Dumbledore replied. "I would dearly love for you to stay."

--

In the Room of Requirement, James and Paige sat down to a beautiful candlelit dinner.

"How's Harry doing?" Paige asked, concerned.

James shrugged. "It'll be about a month before we can get an idea of how bad his leg is. Merry said even best case Harry'll have a profound limp."

"Why don't you just vanish Harry's bones and regrow them or something?" Paige asked.

"The worry is that it won't work," James said, shaking his head. "For some reason… Harry is meant to be disabled. If we try and remove the leg and then regrow it that might not work and then Harry would have to live with only having one leg." Sighing, James poured himself and Paige another glass of wine and changed the subject. "So… Tell me about you."

Paige laughed. "Well, I was a social worker in California. I hate seeing kids be hurt and… I hate seeing parents who are the end of their rope with their kids. I wasn't a great kid when I was a teenager. And when my adoptive parents died, it was a real wake-up call. I worked hard… and tried to make up for my past deeds."

James sipped his wine. "I goofed off a lot when I was a teenager. I was a real prankster. Me and Sirius were the worst… our other friend, Remus Lupin, tried to keep us under control, but… I didn't really start turning around until… until Lily." Not looking at Paige, he went on. "Lily kept putting me in my place. Reminding me that I wasn't as great as my over-inflated ego said I was. I kept trying to win her over but it wasn't until 6th year that she really gave me a chance." Smiling, he added, "But as much as Lily tried to pretend she was perfect, she had a devilish streak." Finally looking at Paige, he said, "I see so much of her in you. Her kindness… her passion… That's… why I've tried so hard not fall in love with you."

Paige took James' hand, her smile warm and comforting. "Well, that explains why I've been drawn to you ever since I met you."

"But I know you're not Lily," James said, looking away again. "I-I just mean that…" Looking at Paige, James tried to say it right. "I don't… want you to think that… that I only love you because I'm still in love with Lily."

"I know what you mean," Paige said, squeezing James' hand.

* * *

"Harry!"

Looking up from the bed he had been lying on, Harry grinned when he saw Hermione Granger come into the hospital wing. It had been a month since Voldemort was gone and none of Harry's friends had come to the castle yet. Still, Harry was sort of grateful for that since his leg was still too weak to support any weight yet. The last thing he wanted was for his friends or Mrs. Weasley see him when he still couldn't really walk.

And yet seeing Hermione after so long, the pain in Harry's leg seemed to go away.

"Hermione," Harry said, happily. "What are you doing here?"

"Friend of yours, Harry?" Merry asked as she lowered Harry's leg.

"One of my best friends," Harry replied, nodding. Looking at Hermione, he asked, "So what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see how you were doing," Hermione said, sitting next to Harry on the bed. "Everyone's been so worried about you."

"I'm okay, Hermione," Harry said, giving her a smile. Seeing her look at his leg, Harry shrugged. "I'll be okay," He said, honestly. "I promise."

"Dumbledore told us how bad you were hurt," Hermione said, taking Harry's hand.

Harry sighed. "My leg's getting better, Hermione… but I'm still…"

Merry left the room, giving the teenagers some privacy as Hermione said, "Harry… why did you do it?"

Harry couldn't look Hermione in the eye as he said, "I just… wanted it to end… Cedric… my parents… Sirius… I just… I didn't want to live with so much death on my shoulders. I guess I'm paying for it now."

"Harry, be honest with me," Hermione said, waiting until Harry looked at her. "Are you going to be okay?"

Harry sighed. "Sirius is blind… I know it's not my fault, but if he hadn't gone through the veil… But at least Sirius is alive… And now that Dad's back… I'm not okay, yet," Harry said, honestly. "But I think I will be."

* * *

"I'd tell you this is too soon," James said as he and Sirius walked into a jewelers shop in Hogsmeade. "If I weren't shopping myself."

"You and Paige?" Sirius asked, surprised.

"No," James said, rolling his eyes. "Me and that portrait of your mother."

"Phoebe was scared at first," Sirius said, after a while. "That bloke she was with before, he was a demon and apparently when she vanquished him it really messed with her."

"You two seemed pretty cozy at dinner last night," James said, looking at his best friend before turning to a tray of rings.

"Hello, gentlemen," said a cute, perky witch with brown hair and blue eyes. "I'm Cecelia. Can I help you with something today? Gift for a lady friend or a special ring?"

James said, "Actually we are looking for engagement rings. My friend's planning on proposing to his girlfriend tomorrow night."

Cecelia quickly noticed the cane Sirius held and said, "Well, I have a collection of our best sellers. Would you like to examine one of those?"

Sirius nodded. "That'd be nice. Thank you." A minute later, Sirius felt the witch take his hand and she handed him a ring.

"You'd be surprised how many time I've sold jewelry to someone who's blind," Cecilia said as she let Sirius feel the rings. Looking at James she smiled. "So what about you?"

James chuckled. "Uh… I am marrying a young redhead, curly hair… nice… sweet… an occasional spitfire…"

Cecilia grinned as she pulled out a gold ring with a ruby in it. "It's not an actual ruby," she clarified. "It's a red diamond."

James studied the ring. "It's beautiful. I know she'll love it."

Sirius was also holding a platinum and diamond ring. "I'll take this one."

"Oooh! Excellent choice!" Cecilia said, taking the ring and tucking it into a box before taking James' ring and putting it in a box as well. Once the rings were paid for, Cecilia handed the rings back. "Good luck."

--


	8. Chapter 7

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I've been stuck for a long time on this story and to me it seemed the story line was coming to an end so I decided to throw in a few things I'd wanted to include before wrapping everything up.

I also want to put in a plug for an original story I've been working on at . The title is Strawberry Cheesecake and the author name is still The Lilac Elf of Lothlorien. If you liked how I wrote the cancer storylines in my two HP fics The Bonds of Family and Deaf, Mute, and an Owl to Boot check out the original story and let me know what you think.

Chapter 7

* * *

"It's really beautiful here," Phoebe said that night as she walked down by the lake holding hands with Sirius.

"I used to walk down this way at night when I was in school and couldn't sleep," Sirius said, smiling. "I love it here."

"Everything's so quiet and peaceful…" Phoebe added, earning a laugh from Sirius. "What?"

"It's only quiet and peaceful because the new school years hasn't started yet," Sirius replied, stopping when he heard gravel crunching beneath his shoes and heard the water lapping at his feet. Squeezing Phoebe's hand, he said, "It's been a long time since I've loved someone. And it's been even longer since… since I thought about being with only one woman." Pulling the engagement ring out of his pocket, he said, "I want to be with you… If you want to be with me."

Phoebe couldn't say anything as she looked at the ring Sirius held. It was exactly like the one in her vision. Remembering how happy she'd felt in that premonition, she smiled. "I do want to be with you."

It took a moment of fumbling, but finally, Sirius slid the ring on her finger. As they kissed in the moonlight, Sirius couldn't remember being happier in his life.

--------------

Inside the castle, Merry stood outside the Hogwarts hospital wing with James as she gave him her update. "Harry's leg isn't getting better," she said, sadly. "It's weak… he has a diminished reflex reaction… And he's still in more pain than he should be." Looking into the hospital wing, she said, "We can try working Harry more… Try and strengthen his leg, but…" Looking at James, she said, "I know you don't want to think about it, James, but… We may have to amputate Harry's leg."

James leaned against the wall. "There has to be something else we can do."

"I'm sorry," Merry said, sincerely. "But I think it's the best thing for Harry."

James rubbed his face, wearily. "What… what happens afterwards?"

Merry nodded, slipping easily into 'doctor' mode. "Because of how far we'd have to take Harry's leg, he wouldn't be able to use a prosthetic. He'd have to use crutches."

James nodded. He wanted to cry, but… "Tell me what to do…" he begged his friend.

Merry's look was sorrowful. "We'll take him to St. Mungo's in the morning."

James looked at Harry and sighed. "We should tell him."

"You do that," Merry said, giving James a weak smile. "I'll contact St. Mungo's."

James nodded and went to his son's bed, not wanting to do what he knew he had to.

Harry was still awake and when he saw his father, he sat up in his bed, wincing at the pain in his leg. "What's wrong, Dad?"

James sat on Harry's bed and decided that the best option was to be direct and honest. "Merry's done some magical scans of your leg," he said, somberly. "Your reflexes are getting weaker… you're losing strength in your leg… There was a lot of nerve and muscle damage… Harry… Nothing's helping."

Harry sighed, understanding what his father was telling him. "I'm going to lose my leg, aren't I?"

"I'm sorry, Harry…" James said, leaning forward and hugging his son. "Tomorrow… you'll go to St. Mungo's and they'll…" Pulling away, James couldn't bear to think about what his son was about to go through. Trying to keep to the details, he went on. "There won't… be enough of your leg to be fitted for a prosthetic."

Harry nodded slowly. "What… what about Quidditch?"

James couldn't help the laugh that escaped him. "We'll find a way to keep you playing," James promised. "On my word as a Marauder."

Harry lay back, looking down at his left leg before looking back up at his father. "What… about after?"

"Merry said that you'll have to use crutches," James replied. "Harry, I wish we didn't have to, but…"

"It's my fault," Harry muttered, looking up at the ceiling. "If I hadn't tried to kill myself…"

"Harry…" James started but Harry shook his head.

"I did this to myself, Dad," Harry said as he sat up again.

"Harry, I'm not denying that what you did was stupid," James replied. "But you didn't know what would happen." Looking at the clock on the wall, James sighed. "Get some sleep. We're leaving early in the morning."

Harry lay back again but he couldn't sleep as he realized that his life would never be the same after tomorrow.

---------------

"Magical limb removal is… different from the muggle method," Merry said as she looked at Harry who was lying on a bed a in a private room at St. Mungo's.

"Different how?" James asked, a hand on his son's shoulder. Harry hadn't slept the night before and now he was anxious as Merry explained the procedure.

"In a muggle amputation," Merry explained. "We would tie off the blood vessels before carefully removing the limb. With wizards… we use special severing charms before taking care of the wounds."

"Will I… be awake… or…?" Harry asked, nervously.

"You'll be unconscious," Merry assured him. "This will hurt a lot but unlike muggle amputations, you won't have any phantom pain afterwards."

"How's that?" James asked, confused.

"The charms we'll be using will keep the nerves from trying to send on signals," Merry clarified. Looking at Harry, she gave him a smile. "It'll be okay, Harry. Once this is over, you'll be just fine."

Harry nodded, trying not to worry. "Okay."

Two healers entered the room, one of them holding a vial of potion. "Harry?" he said, holding out the potion. "I need you to take this before we begin."

Harry took the potion and after a few moments, he was completely unconscious.

As James watched, he didn't notice a shimmer of white-blue lights nearby until he heard a woman's voice.

"James?"

Turning, James saw Piper Halliwell standing with a man with blonde hair. "Piper? Is something wrong?"

"You tell me," Piper replied, pulling down the neck of her shirt, exposing her right clavicle where there was a lightning shaped scar. "I managed to keep it a secret from Leo but I finally figured we should find out what it's from."

James stared for a moment before glancing at the identical scar on Harry's forehead. "Okay…"

"What's wrong?" the blonde man asked.

"You were hit with the Killing Curse?" James asked Piper, pulling the two off to the side. "When we got rid Voldemort?" After a moment, James said, "But…You're not dead."

"The baby?" The other man suggested.

"Who are—?"

"This is my husband, Leo," Piper explained, quickly. Putting a hand to her swollen abdomen, she said, "Since I've been pregnant I've been invulnerable to injuries, but…"

"Piper, the only other person who has survived the Killing Curse is Harry," James said. "That invincibility… that it can protect against the worst curse known to wizards is… incredible."

Leo looked a bit relieved as he said, "So… there's nothing to worry about?"

James shook his head. "I wouldn't think so… although if you want to stay and help Phoebe plan her wedding…"

"Wedding?" Piper asked, smiling. "She and Sirius are getting married?"

James nodded. "I, uh… I was planning on asking Paige last night, but…" Looking over at Harry just as one of the healers vanished Harry's severed leg.

"What happened?" Piper asked, looking concerned.

"Harry's leg has been getting worse," James replied. "He's… been losing function, and…"

Piper sighed. "I'm sorry… We… shouldn't have come just now."

"No, it's… it's fine," James shrugged. "It's just… one more thing I have to deal with."

Piper looked at Leo who gave a miniscule nod. "We're… going to go to the castle. See you later?"

James gave a distracted nod before going back over to Harry's side.

------

Orbing to the wizard hospital, Paige found James sitting next to Harry's bed. "James."

James looked around and he actually smiled when he saw who it was. "Hi, Paige," he replied, turning back to Harry who was still sleeping.

"How's Harry?" Paige asked as she walked over to her boyfriend.

"Sleeping," James replied. "Merry said he'd be out until tomorrow." Standing up, he turned to Paige and pulled her close. "I'm so happy you're here. I just… I feel like my whole world is falling apart. Nothing is as it should be…" he finished, quietly.

Paige wound her arms around James' neck and she smiled. "I know."

James kissed her and said, "I just… I wish everything would stop happening, you know? I just want to…"

"I know," Paige repeated, kissing James again.

James pulled away and reached a hand into his pocket. "I was, uh… I was waiting for a romantic moment, but…" He pulled out the ring box as he dropped to one knee. "Marry me, Paige… Be the one perfect thing in my life…"

Paige gaped at the gold and ruby ring and before she could even think, she smiled. "Yes. Yes!"

James slid the ring onto her finger, grinning like an idiot, and stood before picking Paige up and swinging her around before setting her back on her feet. "I love you. I haven't been this happy in a long time."

"Neither have I," Paige admitted. "And I know how you feel. Everything in my life just got crazier and crazier ever since I found out I was a witch. Since I met you… suddenly things started making sense. I felt like… being with you was…"

"Right…" James finished, pulling Paige in for another kiss.

--------------

Harry was surprised to see his father _and_ Paige Halliwell when he woke up the following morning. "Dad?" Harry asked as he sat up. "What's going on?"

"Well…" James began as he took his fiancée's hand. "Paige and I… are getting married." James had worried half the night about Harry's reaction. But seeing his son smile James relaxed. "Are you okay with that?" James asked.

"Yeah," Harry replied. "Yeah, I mean… if you're happy…"

"Good morning," Merry said, cheerfully as she entered Harry's room. "How are you feeling, Harry?"

Harry shrugged. "Alright… I guess…"

Merry nodded and said, "Well, if you don't mind, I want to check on your leg."

"You mean what's left of it," Harry added, throwing the blankets back.

After examining Harry's stump, Merry nodded. "Everything looks fine," she said. "If you want… you can probably go back to Hogwarts."

"How… How soon can I…?" Harry took a moment before asking, "How soon can I… get walking again?"

Merry held up the pair or ring crutches she held. "If you feel up to it we can start now."

Moving so his remaining leg was over the edge of the bed, Harry slid his arms through the loops at the top of the crutches and grabbed the handles and after a little help from Merry, Harry stood up.

"Okay," Merry said, watching Harry. "Now… Feel ready to try walking?"

----------------------------------------------------

_1 Year Later_

Phoebe couldn't believe that the moment she'd foreseen had actually arrived.

Standing underneath a flowered archway exactly like the one in her vision, Phoebe held a bouquet of pink roses as music played in the Great Hall of Hogwarts.

Paige and James stood together, holding hands, their wedding band shining in the light from the candles that floated in the air.

Harry stood next to them, leaning on the crutches, Hermione next to him with an arm looped through his.

Prue stood arm in arm with Severus Snape as Dumbledore stood with Penny before Phoebe and Sirius.

Watching as Phoebe and Sirius recited their vows and exchanged wedding rings, James' mind started wandering. Only a few months after getting engaged, James had orbed himself and Paige to Italy where they were joined in matrimony before spending a magical honeymoon.

Piper had given birth to twins—a boy and a girl—and now had her hands full with Wyatt Matthew and Pamela Melinda Halliwell.

Prue and Snape had come back to England for James and Paige's wedding but had left afterwards so as to keep moving so that Prue could stay off the spirit radar.

Penny and Dumbledore had gone to Ireland for a weekend and had found a Wiccan high priestess to handfast them.

Harry had been a surprise. He'd had some trouble getting used to only having one leg but after he and Hermione had spent an entire afternoon alone talking, Harry had opted out of playing Quidditch that school year, preferring to focus on his studies. Afterwards, Harry said that he might be suited to teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts given his vast personal experience.

Watching his best friend marry the love of his life, James smiled.

There was magic that even a wand couldn't touch.


End file.
